JACKSON, Miss.  (AP) The historic home
where the late Eudora Welty grew
up and wrote all of her books will get at least $700,000 from the state while
family and supporters map out the houses preservation.

Both the House and the Senate have included
the money in separate versions of a bond bill to finance repairs at Mississippi
universities, junior colleges and state buildings.

Governments issue bonds to borrow money. As
with a person who takes out a loan, the state repays the debt over a number
of years.

The Senate, in major bond programs, plans to
allocate about $121 million; the House, $163 million. The chairmen of the tax-writing
committees in both chambers expect a compromise to be somewhere between those
figures. The bond proceeds for the Welty home restoration will be used to match
a $3 million grant from the National Endowment
for the Humanities.

Historians have said the house needs a new roof
and still has the original 1925 electrical wiring. Other work is to include
new plumbing, a central heating and cooling system, and foundation stabilization.

Weltys niece, Mary Alice White of Jackson,
said the family is working with the department to keep the interior and contents
almost completely intact. I am very grateful the Legislature saw the value
in honoring Mississippis literary heritage. Im prejudiced. I think
Eudora is one of the most distinguished authors in America. Her home will be
one of the most intact literary home museums in the country, White said.

Rep. Billy McCoy, D-Rienzi, chairman of the
House Ways and Means Committee, said selling lawmakers on the renovation of
Weltys home was an easy task. Her home is a place of not only state
significance but national significance, McCoy said. Miss Welty is
one of the most famous contributing citizens. She is nationally and internationally
known. We want to do everything we can to preserve it and promote the great
heritage she left us.

White said plans are to restore the homes
gardens to the way they looked in the 1930s. When people go into the house
they will see the home as Eudora left it with all the paintings and books,
White said. I have continued to be amazed reading the fan letters from
all over the world, from as far away as Japan, France and Germany and from people
that really appreciated Eudora's work.

Another area of agreement between the House
and the Senate is to set aside $15 million for campus improvements at historically
black Jackson State University, Mississippi Valley State University and Alcorn
State University.

The Legislature began setting aside the money
last year, part of a five-year commitment with the money tied to the settlement
of the college desegregation case signed in February by a federal judge. The
campus improvements are part of the overall $500 million settlement. The Senate
included the $15 million in a bond bill and, while the House did not, McCoy
said the money will be available.

This money will be provided. Were
not going to begin to spend these dollars as long as there is an appeal out
there. And then were going to spend them according to the settlement,
McCoy said.

He said the College Board and Attorney General
Mike Moore have presented lawmakers with long-range plans for spending the money.
Both chambers also have agreed to at least $9 million for a new building for
the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and at least $12 million for construction
of a new Mississippi Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. The diagnostic lab will
be constructed in Rankin County.

Weve been planning these for some
time, and were trying to bring to them to fruition this year, McCoy
said.